v. Now illiterate. [f. med.L. substract-, pa. ppl. stem of substrahĕre, alteration of subtrahĕre to SUBTRACT after abstrahĕre to ABSTRACT. Cf. OF., Pr. sostraire, substraire, Sp. su(b)straer.] = SUBTRACT v.
† 1. trans. To withdraw, withhold (a thing) from a person, etc. Obs.
1604. R. Cawdrey, Table Alph. (1613), Substract, take from, withdrawe.
1607. Topsell, Four-f. Beasts, 80. Other put their Neckes into engins, and tame them by substracting their meate.
1647. N. Bacon, Disc. Govt. Eng., I. iii. (1739), 18. Where they shall know of the things belonging to the Crown,… to be concealed, intruded upon, or substracted.
1667. Decay Chr. Piety, viii. § 5. 266. This … substracts that spirit and vigour, which should carry us through the weary stages of duty.
1681. J. Scott, Chr. Life, I. iv. § 5 (1683), 351. Whatsoever Time and Attendance we bestow upon one thing, we must necessarily substract from another.
1710. Prideaux, Orig. Tithes, i. 16. God charged the Jews with the Sin of Substracting these Tithes.
† b. refl. To withdraw oneself, retire from. Obs.
1550–60. Bellenden, Livy, I. (S.T.S.), I. 8. I will Desyre na thing erar … than to substract me fra þe sicht of sik miseriis.
2. trans. To take (one number or quantity) from, † out of another, as a mathematical process.
1588. A. King, trans. Canisius’ Catech., h j. Swa yat ye anticipation being substractit, ye said æquinoxe micht be restoreit to ye 21 day of marche as it was before.
1647. Lilly, Chr. Astrol., iv. 41. Added together, they make 43h 03m, from which in regard they are more then 24 hours, I substract 24.
1656. H. Phillips, Purch. Patt. (1676), 83. You must substract the latter time out of the former time.
1660. Barrow, Euclid, V. xix. Coroll., If like proportionals be substracted from like proportionals.
1731. Miller, Gard. Dict., s.v. Nature, This Motion … if the Body were in Motion before, is either to be added to it, as if the Motions conspire, or substracted from it, as where contrary.
1800. Phil. Trans., XC. 624. 3″, 25, which, substracted from 110° 30′ 13″, 25, leaves 110° 30′ 10″.
1840. Lardner, Geom., 108. If from the square of the side opposite the right angle, the square of the given side be substracted, the remainder will be the square of the third side.
absol. 1626. J. Yates, Ibis ad Cæsarem, II. 156. Thereby declaring your selfe to be an exquisite Arithmetician, who can adde and substract at pleasure.
3. transf. and gen. To take away, deduct.
1613. Hoby, Counter-snarle, 25. My course hath euer beene … to substract many ounces, from that ordinary opinion, which men of his profession doe … intertaine.
1641. Earl Monm., trans. Biondi’s Civil Wars, IV. 23. Those must likewise bee substracted from the English, who were left to guard Jury.
1667. Decay Chr. Piety, Pref. A 5. What vanity … have we substracted, upon the sense of Gods anger?
1744. Harris, Three Treat., II. i. (1765), 57. There must be substracted from these [sc. media of visible objects] the Medium of Motion.
1755. Lavington, Moravians Compared, 157. What are not found in their proper Places, these he substracted with equal Audaciousness.
1810. Bentham, Packing (1821), 262. When all lawyers and all non-lawyers are substracted, how many have you left?
absol. 1656. Heylin, Extraneus Vapulans, 300. Our Authors false Arithmetique in Substracting from his own errours, and multiplying the suposed mistakes of the Observator.
1794. R. J. Sulivan, View Nat., I. 467. By evaporating, by cooling, or by substracting from the fluid.
1804. Wellington, in Gurw., Desp. (1835), III. 15. A … resistance to every thing like an abuse in the service which can tend to substract from the efficiency of the corps in the field.
1816. Bentham, Chrestom., App., Wks. 1843, VIII. 188. So far from adding to, it will substract from, the quantity of labour necessary.
† 4. To belittle, disparage. (? A blunder. Cf. SUBSTRACTOR.) Obs.
1728. North, Mem. Music (1846), 114. Every one … spightfull to each other, and out of emulation substracting their skill in performing.
Hence Substracting vbl. sb.
1628. T. Spencer, Logick, 18. The substracting of something inioyed, or the receiving of something that is added.
1667. Decay Chr. Piety, 50. In artificial Movements, there is such a dependance of one part upon another, that the substracting of any one destroys the whole frame.
